Welcome Paula – Camp’s New Food Service Director
By Judy Blase Woodruff
When you meet Paula Foley, you will know immediately that she is a person who loves her job. She has a broad smile and welcoming attitude for everyone she meets. In the short time she has been with Camp, she has made a positive impression on all who enter the Dining Hall and enjoy her delicious meals. She recently shared, “I love my job and all that it entails – a clean kitchen; healthy environment; good, tasty, fresh food; and the camaraderie that goes along with it.”
Paula is originally from Riverdale, Ill., and she became involved in food service when her children were in school full-time. “The school was an ideal place to work, because I could work when they were in school; and was off when they were off. At the time, the school cafeteria was hiring – and this began my Food Service career,” she explained.
She learned about Camp’s Food Service Director position when searching for Christian Camp positions in the Christian Camp Conference Association newsletter. Since she previously worked at a Christian camp on Catalina Island in California – Campus by the Sea – the position at Ondessonk interested her.
Paula had “the most wonderful experience there (at Campus by the Sea), making memories, working in the kitchen with the summer staff, volunteers, and full-time camp staff and their families.
Our kitchen was fun. We had a great time working together, cooking and baking, playing music, and singing along. A few of the children were able to get their food handlers card, and therefore learned to bake, make pizza and double baked potatoes, etc. It was a very memorable experience, and one I hope to share and experience here at Camp Ondessonk.”
Moving to the Midwest is a homecoming for Paula. She looks forward to being the Food Service Director where her main responsibility is to feed staff and campers. In addition, she will train and work with summer and seasonal staff. She states, “My goal is to build a team in the kitchen that wants to remain and/or return the following season to work in the kitchen once again.” She goes on to say, “I’ve partnered with SYSCO and would like to introduce some of the products they’ve introduced to me along the way. I’ve attended Food Shows and had tastings in their test kitchens, partnered with their chefs in my own camp kitchen, and learned a lot about their products, how to prepare food items; sometimes, just a better way of doing things.”
In her downtime, Paula enjoys reading, writing, taking pictures, and cooking. She’s recently taken up baking bread, but she is still perfecting that skill!
When asked about her first impression of Ondessonk, Paula states, “Camp Ondessonk is a very loving and respectful place. People care about one another and the future of the Camp. Ondessonk feels like a family that looks after one another. I feel blessed and honored to be working for the very fine people at Camp Ondessonk. I look forward to the summer and a great 2025 season.”
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